Costs:,,State how much it will cost your qualified team to carry out your project plan.
Some writers include the costs of a project as a discrete section separate from the conclusion, sandwiched
between qualifications and benefits. Other writers decide to weave costs and benefits together in one section;
the second approach can help sweeten the costs of a project by juxtaposing costs and benefits.
No matter how or where you present costs, never apologize for or become defensive about the costs of a
project. The purpose of the proposal as a genre is to ask for funding or assistance—do not be shy about
doing so. Be confident in your budget. Also, be aware that proposals can sometimes act as contracts—if you
say a project will cost a certain amount, you may be contractually obligated to only charge that amount. ,
The detail of the costs section will depend on the project; larger projects usually require a detailed and
lengthy cost breakdown. However, including a breakdown of costs in the proposal’s body can interrupt the
flow of the document and slow your project’s momentum. Keep your readers excited about your project. If
you have a long and detailed costs section, consider placing it as an appendix in the back of your proposal.
You can offer a synopsis of costs in the body, perhaps highlighting the top costs. You may even simply state
the overall cost and point readers to the appendix; for example, you might write, “We calculate that the
Media Restoration project will cost $27,400. See Appendix B for a detailed cost breakdown.”
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Benefits: Stress the benefits the funder can expect as a result of funding your proposal.
In your proposal’s conclusion, you should mostly be summarizing your proposal’s body, not stating new
information. Follow these four writing moves when crafting a conclusion:
• Signal to your readers that you are concluding the proposal. Although you should be using
transitions between all sections of your proposal, using a transition for your conclusion is
especially important because you want to wake your readers up—the conclusion is
important. You can transition into a conclusion in three ways:
o Use a heading that signals you are wrapping up ideas
o Begin the first sentence of the conclusion with a phrase such as “to conclude” or
“in summary”
o Begin the first sentence of the conclusion by summarizing or restating your
proposal’s main claim
• Highlight your plan’s benefits. You want to persuade your readers that your plan is
desirable, so be sure to stress the benefits of your plan in the conclusion. There are three
different types of benefits a project may meet:
o Hard benefits include deliverables, results, and outcomes
o Soft benefits include satisfaction, service, or quality of work
o Value benefits include common ideals shared by your team and the funder
• Glimpse into the future. Prove that your plan leads to lasting results, not a short-term fix.
Write about how taking advantage of an opportunity or confronting a problem will make the
future better.
• Identify you’re the next step for your readers. Tell your readers what you want them to
do next. Often, the very last moves for a proposal are to thank the readers, tell them how to
contact you if they have any questions, and most importantly, let them know what the first
step is to get a project in motion. Invite your readers to set up a meeting, email, or call. If a
reader is excited about your ideas, make it as easy as possible for him or her to get a project
moving.